Autumn Leaves
by sburbiangodtier
Summary: Saix finds Xemnas doing the most mundane of jobs, but it seems that even the Superior of Organization XIII can find beauty in the simplest of things. Oneshot. XemSai. Rated K for shonen-ai.


**This story came about today when I was raking up the last of the dead fall leaves in our backyard. I think XemSai can be fit into any situation, even to the most simplest of things, don't you? Anyhoo, enjoy this random ficlet, to celebrate the last days of the deadness of winter and the new beginning of springtime. Hmm…I think a spring-themed XemSai story will be very appropriate! *brainstorm* **

**This story was inspired by the instrumental score "The Other Promise" from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts II, and the song "Sanctuary" also from Kingdom Hearts II, by Utada Hikaru. **

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"Hey, have any of you seen Xem—I mean, the Superior?" Saix asked as he peeked his head in the doorway of The Den of No Being, where the remaining members of Organization XIII were sitting by the fire, playing a card game.

Demyx, Xigbar, and Xaldin all popped their heads up at the same time, but Xigbar was the first one to speak. "No, Scarface. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Superior Dude all day. Kinda odd, isn't it?"

The Luna Diviner nodded, ignoring the name-calling that he seemed so prone to at times, when he wasn't looking mean and ferocious. "Yes, it is odd. I must ask him something about this report he assigned me. It's of the utmost importance. I've got to find him."

Xaldin gave Saix a long look with those probing blue eyes of his. "Saix, you can drop the 'second-in-command' façade. We've known about you and Xemnas for like, forever. How can we not know when my room is right next to his, and I hear you screaming nearly every single night?"

"Really? Xemnas and Saix are…are…a couple?!" Demyx squealed, in only the way a rare yaoi fanboy could. He blushed bright red as he fantasized about just _what _the Superior and scary Berserker did at night.

Saix sighed and blushed. "Well, although it is true that the Superior and I…are together…this really is about that report." He scowled. "I can see I'm not getting anywhere though. I have better things to do than stand here and discuss my sex life with you three dimwits!" And with a huff, he turned and stalked away from the den.

He checked in every room. Even the abandoned rooms of the members that had fallen at Castle Oblivion not long ago were searched. The Diviner checked the Kitchen of Nonexistence, the Altar of Naught, and even Where Nothing Gathers. Still no sign of his lover. Saix was feeling pretty frustrated.

Well, as frustrated as a being with no heart could be, anyways.

He trudged past the old greenhouse on the north side of the Castle, the place where Marluxia had once called his second home. He merely glanced in, and stopped short, his eyes wide.

There was Xemnas. But…it couldn't be. The Xemnas that Saix knew would never shed his coat to do dirty landscaping work. The Xemnas he knew would never work up a sweat by doing menial garden work. The Xemnas he knew…would never rake leaves.

But he was. Xemnas had tossed his coat off, and was only wearing his pants and a black sleeveless t-shirt. Muscles rippled along his strong arms as he raked the leaves that covered the ground of what had once been Number XI's haven. And as Saix watched in shock, he raked them into a large pile.

Curiously, Saix entered the greenhouse. The strong smell of dying plants and dead leaves assaulted his nose, and he wrinkled it. He forged on, anyway, not even trying to hide his approaching footsteps that crackled in the dead fauna. Xemnas turned, arching an eyebrow as Saix came forward. "Hello…Saix." he said simply, cracking a faux-tender smile for his Diviner.

"Xemnas…what are you doing?" Saix asked. Xemnas glanced down at his pile of leaves and then back to Saix, steadily holding his gaze with those beautiful ambers that the Diviner adored. "I'm raking leaves."

"I can see that." Saix said. "But…I want to know…why?" He took Xemnas' hand, palm up, examining the dusty streaks in the skin, then turning it over to see that the Superior's fingernails were grimy and caked with dirt as well. A glance up to his master's face showed him the dirt that was smeared across his forehead and cheek, with strands of sweaty silver hair sticking to the perspiration shining on his skin. "You're filthy. Besides, Marluxia's been gone for over six months now, so why would you bother tending to his dead plants?"

The Superior sighed and looked around the dark room. The only light came from Kingdom Hearts, and even that was dim thanks to it being behind a few storm clouds. He didn't speak, as if he was lost in some distant memory, and Saix was becoming nervous. _What is Xemnas up to? It's unlike him to keep something from me. He's acting very strange. _"Xemnas?" he whispered, placing one hand gently on the taller man's shoulder.

"I come in here for alone time." Xemnas finally said, as if reacting to Saix's touch. "I come in here to think. I come in here to plan. I come in here…to remember." A shadow crossed his regal face. "I try to remember what it's like to have a heart. This place…it gives me so many unknown memories. Like, it reminds me of something, but I can't place what it is. It's a remembrance of the feeling of nostalgia. So, I come in here for that. But mainly…I come in here to remind myself of something."

Saix pondered what Xemnas had said. He couldn't quite relate, as he remembered his former life as Isa quite well, as did many of the other members, with Roxas being the exception. His Other had been a werewolf breed from Halloween Town before transferring to Radiant Garden as an exchange student. Needing money for his education, he'd agreed to become an experiment subject for Ansem the Wise and his apprentices, where he'd first come into contact with Xemnas' Other: Xehanort. It was also how he'd fallen for the intelligent man in the first place, before ultimately losing his heart in one of the experiments and becoming both the Heartless Guardian for Xehanort's Heartless, and the Nobody he was today.

But Xemnas had apparently lost his memories of his former life. Not to say he didn't remember his time as Ansem's apprentice, but he just couldn't seem to recall the emotions and feelings that come with being human.

But just now, with Xemnas' last statement, Saix's curiosity was piqued yet again. "What do you remind yourself of?"

The smile he got in return was somewhat of an enigma, just like the owner of the smile himself. "I remind myself that even in a world of death, destruction, and despair; a world where Nobodies must exist, that there is hope and a life that is promised to us if we make it back to the other side."

Saix found that he couldn't follow what Xemnas was trying to say. "What do you mean by that?"

Xemnas took his hand. "Come with me. I have something to show you." He led the Diviner to a secluded area near the back of the room. Kneeling down in the dirt, Xemnas pointed to a tiny bud. "This, Saix, is what I mean."

Now Saix was even more confused. "Sir, it's just a dead plant, like all the other ones." He poked the one of the leaves carefully, expecting it to crumble and drop in pieces to the ground, but when it didn't, he looked back up at his lover. "Xemnas?"

"It may not look like much right now, but watch what happens when the moonlight touches it." Xemnas whispered, pointing to the roof, where Kingdom Hearts was just starting to peek through the storm clouds. Then he averted Saix's attention back to the bud, which, to Saix's disbelief, blossomed from a dark, dead-looking plant into a beautiful white flower with light blue streaks gracing its petals.

Saix gasped lightly, brushing his fingers gently across the flower's graceful petals. "Xemnas…it…it's…"

"Yes, Saix. You see, if you give something that seems dead and gone enough tender, loving care, you can bring it back from that dark abyss of pain and devastation. It can be beautiful again with time." Light fingertips touched Saix's chin, drawing his face away from the flower to look at the Superior. Saix gazed into Xemnas' eyes as his master spoke. "That's what I've been trying to do for all of us Nobodies. I believe that, with the help of Kingdom Hearts and a little bit of time, we can all be whole and beautiful once again, like this flower here."

"Xemnas…" Saix murmured questioningly, but Xemnas held a finger to his lips. "Don't speak, Saix. Don't try to make sense of things that you may or may not yet be able to comprehend. In time, you will see. But for now…" Xemnas' voice trailed off as he pressed his lips tenderly to Saix's. "For now, just know that I am trying to make something beautiful become whole again. I'm doing this not just for the rest of the Organization, but specifically for you and I. I want to see you smile and laugh, and be able to put true feeling into it, without the pretense of having a heart."

Saix pulled away. "I know, Xemnas. And I love you for it."

Another tender kiss to his lips as Xemnas replied, "As I love you, Saix." Then he pulled away and stood. "I believe that I am done for the day. What do you say to helping me wash off this dirt and mess?" he said, a lusty, mischievous smirk on his face.

Saix chuckled and rose, taking Xemnas' hand and intertwining their fingers, pale skin against tan. "That sounds like a great idea." he said as they walked out of the greenhouse.

_I may not understand all that Xemnas has shared with me today, but I know one thing. No matter what happens, I'll never doubt Xemnas' promise of hope and life for me…and him. Together. With the rest of my brothers, we will fight to that end. I will fight for them. I will fight for me. And I will fight for Xemnas, most of all. That…is __**my**__ promise to him._

As Xemnas and Saix left, neither one of them noticed the flower. It fairly glowed in the moonlight, the sign of a promise between two lovers. And as it glowed, the rest of the greenhouse seemed to come alive as well, fed by the passion of the one simple flower.

Truly, the autumn leaves had never looked more colorful and radiant than they did that night.


End file.
